Court rules remote meetings cannot continue after May 7
The High Court has ruled today that from May 7, council meetings in England must take place "in person" – dashing hopes that remote meetings would be able to continue after the coronavirus restrictions which allow them lapse.
The case brought by The Association of Democratic Services Officers, Lawyers in Local Government and Hertfordshire CC concerned whether councils already have the powers needed to hold online meetings through flexibility in current laws which date back to 1972. It received the backing of communities secretary Robert Jenrick.
The judgement by Dame Victoria Sharp, President of the Queen's Bench Division, and Mr Justice Chamberlain concluded: “The Secretary of State was correct in November 2016 and July 2019 to say that primary legislation would be required to allow local authority "meetings" under the 1972 Act to take place remotely. In our view, once the flexibility regulations cease to apply, such meetings must take place at a single, specified geographical location; attending a meeting at such a location means physically going to it; and being "present" at such a meeting involves physical presence at that location.